Job scam: 2 assistant director-ranked officers to jointly head ED probe team

Kolkata: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has appealed to the Calcutta High Court to reconsider its decision to remove the investigating officer of the teacher recruitment scam, Mithilesh Kumar Mishra from all investigations in the state.

Moreover, it was learnt that two assistant director-ranked officers will jointly head the ED team probing the money-laundering cases, with a special focus on the multi-crore cash-for-school job case.

Sources said that Officer R Kumar is being brought to the ED’s Kolkata office from Gangtok to jointly head the team of sleuths probing the cases. Meanwhile, Mukesh Kumar has taken charge as an assistant director in the matter, replacing his predecessor Mithilesh Kumar Mishra.

It was learnt that the ED has approached the single bench of Justice Amrita Sinha for reconsideration of her earlier decision to remove Mishra from all the probe relating to money laundering cases in West Bengal.

The officer is now learnt to have appealed that although he was removed from the probe in the teacher’s recruitment scam, the other cases of money laundering in West Bengal may not be taken away from him.

On September 29, Justice Sinha ordered the removal of Enforcement Directorate assistant director Mithilesh Kumar Mishra from the Central agency’s team probing the alleged primary teacher recruitment scam in West Bengal.

The court had said that it was dissatisfied with Mishra’s answers to its queries during his appearance before it in the previous hearing. Justice Sinha’s clear indication was not a single case relating to money laundering in West Bengal be assigned to Mishra.

Mishra faced the ire of Justice Sinha for providing incomplete information to the court on Leaps and Bounds Pvt Ltd whose name surfaced during the course of investigation by the central agencies in the school job case.

“Is it a post office that you will submit whatever you have received from someone without examining the details? When will you reach the end of the tunnel?” Justice Sinha had questioned. It was learnt that the court has accepted the case of ED and the hearing is to take place on Friday.